I Can't Be Your Friend
by LilMonkeyGirl
Summary: What happens when two young, rival ninja go on a two person mission, that involves the most bizarre signal they have ever encountered? SasuNaru...
1. A New Mission

_So. Okay. This is my first FanFic. Let me know what you think of it._**

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**I Can't Be Your Friend**

**Chapter 1: A New Mission**

It was the first day of the summer. Team 7 was meeting on the bridge, and, as was usual, they were expecting their sensei to be late. Naruto kept tossing glares at Sasuke, who was just plain ignoring him, which he found to be very annoying. Sakura stood between them, leaning against the railing, watching them. She sighed in exasperation and shook her head from time to time, as though she wanted to say, 'I can't believe you two are still doing this!'

"Good morning!" The trio looked up at this cheerful remark. To their surprise, Kakashi was walking toward them.

"Kakashi Sensei! You're early today!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Well, I am early sometimes." He said, closing his one visible eye in the expression they had learned meant he was smiling.

Naruto frowned, giving him a look that clearly said, 'Are you kidding? Since when?'

"Alright," Kakashi started, "are you ready for your new mission?"

Naruto perked up, his attention now fully on his teacher.

"Is it going to be good? Is it going to be hard? We haven't had anything tough in such a long time!" He said gleefully, a huge grin on his face.

"Take it easy!" The sensei cried out. "It might be difficult for you."

Naruto looked like he just wanted Kakashi to point him in the right direction, and he'd get the job done himself.

"Do you even want to know what you have to do?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically. Sakura was listening intently. Sasuke's expression remained the same. Uninterested.

"For this mission…" Kakashi started, Naruto leaning forward in anticipation. "You have to travel to a distant village. Once there, you must collect six scrolls from a local family. Then return home and give those scrolls to the Hokage."

Naruto looked outraged.

"What!" He exclaimed. "That's it? That doesn't sound dangerous! That doesn't even sound interesting!"

Sakura glared at him.

"Shut up, Naruto!" She yelled. She looked about ready to hit him over the head.

"Settle down," Kakashi said. "I wasn't finished yet." Naruto looked back at him, interested again. "The six scrolls will be delivered to a family in the village, at different times. Some may be there already, waiting to be picked up. But it could take over a month _after_ you get there for the rest to arrive." He paused, waiting for another interruption from Naruto. There didn't seem to be one coming. "It is highly possible someone might try to steal these scrolls from you, so you should always be on your guard."

"Yes!" Naruto exclaimed. Sakura gave him a withering look.

"Oh…" Kakashi said with a small laugh, "I almost forgot to mention…instead of your normal three person team, you will be on a two person team."

"What?" Naruto and Sakura cried.

"One of you will be staying behind." He looked at their faces for a moment. "Well, I think Naruto has already voiced his opinion, and wants to go. Any other volunteers?" Sakura was shaking her head, trying to be as small as possible. "Okay. Thank you for volunteering, Sasuke. Now our two man team is set."

Sasuke's eye twitched.

"What!?" It was the first thing he had said all morning.

"Oh, right. You can get your exact details a little later, after you get ready to go."

Naruto's mouth had dropped open.

"How can…what…why…" His outrage was evident, due to his inability to formulate a sentence. Sasuke had regained his composure.

"He said I was your partner. Get over it, dobe." He turned, walking away.

"Where are you going?" Kakashi called after the dark haired boy.

"To get ready to go." He called over his shoulder, without stopping. Naruto also turned away and started walking.

"So am I!" He announced.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, glancing at Sakura.

"I was expecting more of a fight." He said to her with a shrug.

She only frowned.

"I guess it's a good thing I didn't tell them everything."

* * *

"What!" Naruto cried. 

The two boys had quickly gathered the belongings they were going to need. Then they'd returned to the bridge and rejoined their sensei. From there, the three went to the Hokages office. This was clearly going to be an important mission, they had thought. But now…

"That's inhuman!" Sasuke said. The two boys looked at each other, disgust evident on their faces.

"I _hate_ him!" They both said bitterly. Tsunade sighed.

"This is the signal that the family requested. We can do nothing but obey. Well, we could just not get those scrolls. But that is out of the question."

They were still glaring at one another.

"We could get another team to do it. That shouldn't be too difficult." Naruto tore his eye's away from Sasuke.

"No! I want to go on a tough mission. I just don't want to act like I'm…in love…with…" Naruto looked back at Sasuke. "with…_him_."

* * *

_Well? What do you think so far? _

_The next chapter will be called 'Endangering The Mission'._


	2. Endangering The Mission

**Chapter 2: Endangering The Mission:**

The terrain was rough, the weather unpredictable. But they'd been told as much. The only problem either boy expected to encounter was this…signal.

Naruto thought their instructions over. The two boys were supposed to arrive in the village and check into a specific hotel. Then, on the fourth day of the week, they were supposed to appear, at noon, on the balcony, posing as an openly…gay…couple. Then the family would know what they looked like and to contact them, because they had arrived. Naruto shuddered at the thought.

_I wonder what he's thinking,_ Naruto thought as the boys walked. Sasuke hadn't said a single word to him since they'd left. And that was almost a day and a half ago.

"So," he said aloud. There was no reaction from the Uchiha boy. He cleared his throat, concentrating on the ground beneath his feet. "So, that was a dirty trick, whoever thought of it. You know, about this signal." That was good. Something they had similar thoughts on.

"Hn," was the only sound he heard. Naruto desperately wanted to break the silence hanging in the air. _Don't get me wrong,_ he thought. _I_ hate _him! But I can't stand this quiet. It's killing me._

"Are you going to be like this for the entire mission?" Naruto asked. For a moment, he thought Sasuke wasn't going to answer.

"Yes," was the short, anything but sweet, response he received.

"Oh." _Great! This is just wonderful! I'm stuck with the guy, and he isn't going to talk to me for who knows how long. _Naruto briefly thought about asking to turn back. _No! Then he'll have another thing else to use against me._ Naruto stopped trying to make conversation, for now. He turned his eyes skyward. The sun was starting to set. He paused for a minute. _Does it look like it's going to rain?_

* * *

"We'll stop here for the night." 

Naruto looked around. Sasuke didn't wait for his approval. He just put his bag down and started setting his things up for the night.

_Okay,_ Naruto thought. _Whatever you say._ He was glad. All this walking had actually made him tired. Or maybe it was just the tension between the two boys.

As Naruto began to set up his things for the night, Sasuke made a small fire.

_At least he has some human feelings. He's acknowledging that it's going to be cold tonight._

Naruto began preparing them a small meal. In the advancing gloom, Naruto watched Sasuke. He had walked to a tree, and now sat with his back to it, leaning forward slightly. His hands were clasped together and his elbows rested on his legs.

_He's brooding again,_ Naruto thought. Again, he found himself wondering what the boy was thinking about. He had to be in very deep thought for his dark eyes to look a thousand miles away, as they did.

A short time later, he called out to him. Sasuke blinked, then turned his head to look at him.

"Your food is ready." Naruto said. The dark haired boy stood up wordlessly. They ate in silence. They cleaned up when they were finished, and then laid down by the fire to sleep. Still, not a word was spoken. This quiet was really getting to Naruto.

"Sasuke," he started, "tomorrow could we-"

"Good night, dobe."

"Stop calling me that!" He cried into the darkness. Sasuke didn't say a word. Naruto glared for a moment at nothing in particular. "Good night. Teme." He said after a little while.

He could have sworn that he heard Sasuke snort from the other side of the fire.

* * *

Naruto woke to a flash of lightning and a peal of thunder. He sat straight up. He could practically feel the electricity in the air. Another flash of light and a crashing sound, almost simultaneous, made him jump. Seconds later, he heard a soft patter…rain. It swiftly became a downpour. Something cold grabbed his arm, making him jump, again. 

"Naruto! Grab your things and follow me." He did as he was told, slinging his belongings over his shoulder. He hurried after Sasuke, who wasn't quite running. Yet.

A flash of lightning revealed what Sasuke was hurrying towards. A cave, halfway up a rocky incline. It wasn't steep, but it definitely wasn't an easy stroll.

_Almost there!_ Naruto thought, triumphantly. He took a step and his arms flailed about wildly as his feet slipped on the wet rocks. He tumbled head over heels down the slope. When he finally hit the bottom, his head struck a large rock and darkness crept across his vision.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Sasuke dropped onto the dry ground in the cave. He closed his eyes, catching his breath.

"Dobe?" He called. The blonde was being way too quiet. He opened his eyes, looking around. He wasn't there. Sasuke stood up uncertainly.

"Naruto? Where are you?" _He must have slipped,_ he thought immediately. Sasuke rushed to the mouth of the cave. One step outside, though, and a bolt of lightening shot into the ground.

_One more step and that would have…_Sasuke couldn't stop his body from shaking. _I can't go out in that! Stupid Naruto! Now I'm…scared…for him._ Sasuke stared off into the night.

"Naruto…?" He breathed, hours later, when he finally began to drift off to sleep.

* * *

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. 

_How did I get here?_ He wondered. He was staring up at a rock covered ceiling. _I'm in that cave! Did…_he turned his head. Sure enough, as he'd guessed, Sasuke sat against the wall, within an arms reach. His chin rested on his chest. He had fallen asleep. _Was he looking after me?_

Naruto felt a tickling sensation in his nose. No matter what he did, he was going to sneeze. _Great!_ He thought. An inhalation of breath later, and it was over. He'd sneezed an even four times. Still recovering, he saw Sasuke had his head up, looking around. Naruto was surprised to see just how exhausted he looked. Finally, the dark eyed boy turned his gaze to Naruto.

"You're awake," he said, his voice hoarse. "Finally." He turned to the side, picking something up and then offering it to him. "Drink. You're probably thirsty."

Naruto sat up, taking the container. It was almost empty. He took a small sip and then held it out to Sasuke. He sounded like he needed it. The other boy shook his head.

"You need it more than I do."

Naruto knew he looked troubled. He opened his mouth to ask a few questions, but Sasuke interrupted him.

"You have been out of it for about three days." He paused, clearing his throat. "I went out after the storm had passed and found you. After that, I carried you up here," Sasuke looked at him as though trying to read his mind. "Yes," he said softly, "I did stay by your side the entire time."

Naruto was stunned by this.

"But why?"

Sasuke took a moment before answering.

"Because I can't do this mission by myself. Without two guys to give the signal, this mission fails."

Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes. They were cold and unemotional.

"Right." Naruto said, looking at the ground. He heard a rustling sound, and looked back at Sasuke. He was lying down, closing his eyes.

"I need…" he started to say. Naruto waited for him to continue, before realizing he had fallen asleep.

* * *

Sasuke opened his eyes. He looked around for Naruto. The blonde wasn't there. He wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been asleep. 

_I feel so…so weak._ He forced himself to sit up. _What was that sound?_ He was swaying slightly, the cave swimming before his eyes, so he closed them again. That was when he heard the sound of something whistling through the air. He barely had enough time to move, before he heard the sound of something hitting the cave wall and skittering away. As he opened his eyes, something grabbed him by the neck, pulling him to his feet and shoving him into the wall. He gasped at the impact.

_I can't breath!_ He thought, panicked. _I'm too tired to fight back!_ Dimly, he was aware of this huge brute of a man pulling a kunai out from somewhere he couldn't see. Sasuke felt the blade being pressed against his stomach. _Desperate times call for desperate measures,_ he thought. _Naruto! Save me!_

* * *

Naruto had left the cave earlier that morning. Sasuke was getting his much needed rest, and Naruto didn't have the heart to wake him. After all, he had basically saved his life, hadn't he? 

After finding a place to refill their water supply, Naruto went about finding the things the boys had dropped on their mad dash to the cave. True to his word, Sasuke must not have left his side throughout those three days, because nothing had been collected.

Naruto was walking back to the cave when he saw a figure disappear into it. _What? What do I do?_ He carefully put down all the belongings he had collected, then he hurried up to the mouth of the cave, peering into it. A large man had Sasuke by the throat, slowly choking the life out of him. And, as though just waiting for an excuse to use it, he was holding a kunai to his belly.

_Time to return your favor._ Without another thought, Naruto pulled out one of his own kunai, throwing it at the man, hard. It struck his right shoulder and he yelped in surprise, dropping Sasuke into a wheezing heap on the ground. The man spun around, and, to Naruto's surprise, dropped to his knees.

"Please," he said, "Please don't kill me!"

Sasuke looked up, a pained look in his now glassy eyes. The two boys eyes met, and then Naruto nodded.

"Get out of here," he said. The man hurried to his feet, rushing to get away. Naruto stopped him before he left the cave. "I want my kunai back," he said, holding his hand out. The man swallowed, but obeyed the young ninja.

Naruto approached Sasuke, crouching down beside him. He helped him sit up against the wall. His breathing was becoming more regular. Naruto placed his hand on Sasukes shoulder. The tired boy rested his head against the cave wall. Dark eyes met blue once again.

"Can we get away from here, now?" Sasuke said, voice raspy. "We've spent too much time here already."

Naruto nodded, helping him to his feet. Together, they left the cave.

* * *

Naruto almost couldn't believe it. 

_I've been talking to Sasuke for almost an hour, and he hasn't tried to bite my head off yet!_ Granted, Sasuke was doing more listening than talking, but still. _I'd be willing to call off this stupid rival thing. He's not so bad when he isn't trying to be so much better than you._

Naruto stopped talking, the smile on his face sliding away, when he looked toward Sasuke's face. He wasn't looking in the blonde's direction, and didn't seem to be paying any attention. Well, from what Naruto could see, anyway. He clenched his jaw, fighting down the upset feeling and waves of anger he had started to feel. But all of these emotions dissipated when the dark haired boy turned to look at him, slight confusion and…interest…in his eyes.

"Dobe? Why'd you stop?"

Naruto tilted his head.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?" Naruto wasn't finding this response as annoying as he used to.

"Before we go any further, can I ask you a question?"

Sasuke frowned, the confusion that was uncharacteristic of him clouding his eyes.

"Can we call off this rivalry?"

The expression didn't go away. Naruto held out his hand.

"Friends?"

Sasuke looked at his extended hand. To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke turned wide eyes on him.

"I've never…" He cleared his throat. "Definitely."

They clasped hands, shaking them in agreement. Naruto grinned widely.

Now it was time for another surprise. Sasuke, the person who Naruto had never, ever seen happy, smiled. If possible, Naruto began smiling wider.

"You know," he said, "you have a really sweet smile."

Sasuke didn't seem to know what to do with this information.

"You should do it more often."

Sasuke looked away, biting his lip.

_Is he blushing?_ Naruto shook his head.

* * *

So? What do you think so far? I have two more chapters to go. I have them all hand written, too, so it is just a matter of getting them typed up.

_So, for anyone who has read (hopefully, if you're reading this you read everything else), Chapter 3 is called 'The Signal'._


	3. The Signal

_So, okay, it's kind of short. But I'm going to get the last chapter up shortly. I'm off to type it up now..._**

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**Chapter 3: The Signal**

It was two days after the boys had checked into the hotel. They had wandered about, enjoying each others company, without their past hostility. They talked for hours. They hadn't ever thought they could get along so well. But, no matter what they spoke about, one thing hung over their heads.

The signal.

Naruto sat on the balcony. He was enjoying the feeling of sunlight on his face. He tilted his head, a tiny smile crossing his face, when he heard the familiar small steps of his friend.

He walked to the railing, which Naruto was sitting on. His feet were dangling over the edge. Sasuke clambered onto it, settling himself down rather close to him. Naruto tilted his face toward the sunlight. He felt that Sasuke wanted to say something.

_It's strange,_ he thought. _One week ago, we hated each others guts. Now, we know what we're thinking, without saying a word. Usually._ Naruto could feel Sasuke studying him.

"Do you know what time it is?" The boy asked, finally.

Naruto breathed in deeply, not opening his eyes as he answered.

"Nope."

"Do you know what day it is?"

Naruto shook his head.

"Nop-" He jumped, turning his head, shock in his eyes. "Sasuke! What do you think you're doing?!" With his last question, the Uchiha had almost casually placed his hand on Narutos leg. A little _high_ on Narutos leg. He looked down at the hand. It was halfway between his knee and hip. Sasuke was looking anywhere but at Naruto.

"It's noon, on the fourth day of the week," he mumbled. Naruto was about to complain, but Sasuke was too quick. Before he could even blink, the other boys cool hands were on both sides of his face. They looked into each others eyes for a second, before Sasuke leaned toward him, kissing him gently, as though he was afraid he would break. Sasuke pulled away much too soon.

"I…" Sasuke was at a loss for words.

Naruto looked musingly at him, a sly smile on his face. _I…liked…that!_

"You're a good kisser."

Sasukes brow furrowed. He looked like he wanted to make some sort of argument. Narutos hand touched the side of his face.

"Hey, I, ummm…"

Naruto leaned closer to the other boy. Hesitantly, he brushed a kiss across his friends lips. One of Naruto's hands went behind the dark head of hair.

"I-"

"Shut up." He said.

Sasuke looked surprised. Naruto thought for a moment. _What am I doing?_

"We need to make this look good." He said, more to convince himself than Sasuke.

_Why am I really doing this?_

At one point, they had turned to face each other, and Naruto took advantage of this, leaning toward Sasuke, kissing him. It was nothing like the small kiss they'd shared less than a minute ago. Sasuke's arm wrapped around his neck as his back hit the railing.

Finally, they parted.

_Since when were we sitting on the ground on our balcony?_ He thought. They'd been sitting on the railing. Naruto realized Sasuke was staring at him. Neither boy had ever kissed or been kissed quite like they just had. Naruto grinned, giving his friend a quick peck on the cheek.

"Ahem…" Someone cleared their throat behind them.

Naruto turned around, Sasuke looking over his shoulder. A fair haired young man stood just inside the room they shared.

"I was wondering if I should just come back later. That was just supposed to be a signal, not…well, what it was."

"It was nothing!" Naruto and Sasuke said quickly.

"I bet." The man said doubtfully. "Answer this. Does nothing usually last for, hmmm…an hour?"

Naruto turned back to his dark haired friend. _An hour? _he mouthed. Sasuke shrugged, not sure what to say.

"Yeah, you think about that."

The boys stood up, facing the man. He approached them, holding out a bag in his hands. The man rolled his eyes at their puzzled expressions.

"You sure took your sweet time getting here. Apparently, it was long enough for you to forget your mission." He looked at them again. "The scrolls?"

"Oh…right!" Naruto said, scratching his head in embarrassment. The man shook his head.

"There are five here," he said. "My son met me in the square a while ago and told me the sixth had just arrived. My wife wouldn't let him carry it to me, though."

The two boys looked at each other. They were going to leave this village early than they'd thought.

"I will let you know where I live, and you two can come get the scroll later tonight, if you'd like."

* * *

_So, what do you think? Any thoughts on what is going to happen next?_


	4. Truth

_Here the last chapter, for anyone who has read everything so far..._**

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**Chapter 4: Truth**

Sasuke and Naruto were walking down the street, to the young man's home. He hadn't offered them his name, but that wasn't a big deal. He hadn't asked theirs.

On occasion, they were followed by whispers. It didn't take long to figure out that these were the people who had seen their performance on the balcony.

Sasuke was staring down the fourth person to approach them. Naruto shook his head and nudged him.

"Just ignore them. I know you do that well."

The boy made a sour expression, but did as advised. They walked down the street to the last house.

"Is this it?"

Sasuke looked at the house number and nodded. As they approached, the fair haired man stepped out of his front door.

"Good evening," he said. He immediately handed them the scroll. "I thought you'd like to be on your way."

"Aha!" Came a cry from behind them.

Naruto and Sasuke turned around. A small boy stood before them. There was an unmistakable resemblance between the child and the young man.

"Shuna! Son, go back to what you were doing."

The boy pouted.

"But father…" he whined. He turned his head to the older boys. "Are you ninja?"

Naruto grinned, nodding. He almost wanted to laugh at the awed look on the child's face.

"Can you…can you teach me something? Anything!" He looked at them, pleading.

They looked at the boys father, who just shrugged.

"Okay," Naruto said.

He looked at Sasuke, who had a look in his eyes that said 'why me?'

"Come on!" The boy grabbed Naruto's wrist, starting to drag him away. Sasuke looked like he wasn't going to follow, so Naruto grabbed the front of his shirt, jerking him forward, just before the two were out of each others reach.

* * *

The boy, Shuna, had led them to a small area, cleared for 'training'. As the excitable child had been babbling, Naruto learned that he wanted to be a ninja, someday. Other than that, it was just a lot of unintelligible chatter.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, smiling as he placed two fingers on the side of his head in a vague gesture which said he would have a headache later. Sasuke snorted, shaking his head.

"Shuna," Naruto said, kneeling down so he was at the child's level. "How old are you?"

"Seven," the child said.

Naruto looked like he was in deep thought.

"I can't remember. What's something we learned when we were seven?"

"Shuriken throwing." Sasuke answered without thought.

Naruto tilted his head.

"Hey. You're right. Thanks. How'd you remember that so quickly? Sasuke?"

The other boy turned without answering, walking to a tree. He sat against it, fingers clasped. Naruto frowned.

_Brooding? What did I say? He hasn't done that for a while. Not since we ended our rivalry._

Naruto quickly told Shuna the basics, demonstrating how the boy should hold and throw the shuriken. After a few tries Naruto guided, the boy said he wanted to try by himself. Naruto sat down beside Sasuke, watching the young child throwing shuriken, then the brooding teen.

_I__ wonder what he's thinking._ This was a reoccurring theme to him. He frowned. _I don't really care what he's thinking._ This thought startled him. _I guess now what I really want to know is how he's feeling._ After an hour of watching the child throwing shuriken, Naruto called to him.

"Do you think your parents want you home yet?"

Shuna looked at him.

"I guess." He walked toward the older boys. He handed Naruto the shuriken. He then looked at Sasuke. "What is his name? He hasn't said anything all day."

Naruto frowned, reaching out and pushing his friend, lightly. The dark haired boy blinked, looking around.

"His name is Sasuke." Naruto stood, offering his hand to the other boy. Sasuke seemed to be considering whether or not to take his hand, just for a second. Then, he took it, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet by the blonde. Shuna turned his gaze up, looking at Sasuke's nearly unreadable face.

"He looks mean."

Sasuke scowled.

_That probably doesn't make him look so nice_, Naruto thought with a sigh.

"He isn't that bad, once you get to know him."

Shuna looked doubtful, but shrugged.

"Whatever you say," Shuna started to walk home, making sure the two boys followed.

* * *

"Goodbye, Sasuke," Shuna said formally with a slight nod of his head. "Goodbye Naruto!" He said, smiling, waving over his shoulder as he walked to his front door.

"Goodbye, Shuna!" Naruto called cheerfully. "Tell your father we are grateful for his services."

The boy nodded.

As they walked, Naruto thought, _Okay. Here's a good opening._

"What happened before? You totally spaced out for an hour."

Sasuke looked straight ahead.

"I've been worse off." He said stiffly. Naruto felt strangely hurt by this comment.

"What happened, Uchiha?" He snapped. "The mission is over, so you have no more use for a friend?"

Sasuke stopped, eyes widening.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto! I wasn't thinking," he closed his eyes, "or, I guess I still was thinking, but…" he opened his eyes, looking at Naruto again. "I'm sorry. It was an automatic response. I guess I've been doing that for a long time. And you know what they say. Old habits die hard…"

Naruto closed his eyes, nodding and smiling.

"It's alright," he said. The truth was, he'd overreacted, allowing himself to become extremely upset and angry too quickly. He should have known better. _Why had that happened, though?_

"I forgive you. Why don't we just-" Naruto stopped short at the sound of a scream. "Shuna?" He said. Both boys turned, racing back to the house, crashing through the front door.

Naruto hurried to the sound of the now sobbing child. He had a kunai in his hand, unaware as to when exactly he'd drawn it. Sasuke was following him in a similar, menacing fashion. Finally, they arrived in the room the child was in. He stood still, blocking Sasuke's view, shocked by what he saw.

Lying in the middle of the room were two people, the fair haired young man, Shuna's father, and a brown haired woman who must have been his mother. They were surrounded by a pool of blood. Shuna was weeping, on the ground only a few feet from them. Naruto felt his stomach turning.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, pushing passed him. The dark haired boy seemed to grow paler than usual. Something strange was in his eyes. Naruto closed his eyes himself, steadying his nerves. He approached the weeping child.

"Shuna?" He said softly. The child looked up, then launched himself into Narutos arms. "It's going to be alright." He said, comfortingly stoking the child's hair. "Everything will be fine." Naruto looked at his dark haired friend. "Come on. Let's all go outside." He led the small child out, calling, "Come on Sasuke!"

Five minutes later, Shuna was being taken care of by various friends of the family. Naruto searched the growing crowd for his friend, but couldn't find him. _Is he still inside?_

Naruto hurried through the rooms to where he had last seen Sasuke. _There he is._ He hadn't moved. _Something is wrong._ Naruto approached his friend, resting his hand on his shoulder.

"Sasuke?" He said softly. He peered into his friends face…and recoiled in shock. There was so much pain and fear in his eyes. And yet, they seemed empty and lifeless. _Something is very, very wrong…_

* * *

Later on, Naruto had managed to guide Sasuke back to their hotel room. They sat together, Naruto cradling the nearly catatonic boy. He was almost relieved when, hours later, the boy began sobbing uncontrollably. After that, though, he fell asleep, Naruto still holding him, as he would for the rest of the night.

The soft rays of morning light on his face woke him. He tried to stretch, but stopped before he had even moved. Sasuke's light frame was pressed against him. He remembered last night vividly.

"Sasuke…" The dark haired boy stirred, but didn't wake up. That was fine by him. Naruto just watched him as he slept, a strange protective feeling growing inside him.

That morning, after the two had gotten up, Naruto checked them out of the hotel. They had all the scrolls and Naruto wanted to get Sasuke away from this village. Hopefully, he would get better once they had gone far enough. Naruto wanted to know exactly what had happened, but wasn't willing to force his friend into another breakdown.

As he'd expected, Sasuke became more aware of his surroundings as time went on. Four days later, the two boys returned home.

* * *

"Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto called out to the older ninja when he saw him. He was walking the streets alone, having parted ways with Sasuke a few hours ago. All the teams were going to meet later that day, so they'd decided to go their separate ways and regroup at the meeting.

"Naruto?" The silver haired man looked a little confused. "Are you done with your mission already?"

Naruto nodded, smiling.

"Any problems?"

Naruto frowned.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

The sensei nodded.

"Well, to start off, we were caught in a storm. I hit my head, which knocked me out. Sasuke carried me to a cave, where he stayed awake for three days to watch me. Then he had to sleep that off for a day. Some random guy tried to choke him in the cave…"

Kakashi frowned.

"But I scared the guy away, and then we left."

The man nodded.

"Do you want some ramen?" Kakashi was positive he would regret asking that later, but he felt like being nice.

Naruto nodded, but didn't jump around like he would normally have. He was really thinking. They walked to his favorite shop and ordered his food. Kakashi just said he wasn't hungry when asked why he didn't order anything.

"Alright," the man said once they sat down. "What other problems did you have?" There was a mischievous glint in his eye. "Did the signal cause any trouble?"

Naruto looked up.

"Not at all. It was a little later that day that we had trouble."

"What happened?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to explain it to me." The boy looked at his teacher, worry in his eyes. "Everything was fine. We taught Shuna to throw shuriken. He's…I never even learned their name. The family we got the scrolls from. He was the child in the family. A father, a mother, and a child."

Kakashi looked at his student, slightly concerned.

"We'd taught him how to throw shuriken, and we brought him home. We turned around when we heard him screaming and crying." The boy had stopped.

"What happened?" Kakashi prompted.

"His parents were dead, in the middle of the house."

The older mans visible eye widened. Naruto paused, swallowing.

"When…when Sasuke saw…when he saw _everything,_ I don't know. Something happened to him. He couldn't move or talk. He was scared."

Kakashi nodded.

"Was that what it was?" He asked quietly.

"Why…why did Sasuke freeze up like that?"

Kakashi watched as the chef placed Naruto's order in front of him. He considered what to say next.

"You now Sasuke hates his brother? He would love to kill him."

Naruto halfheartedly slurped some of his ramen up.

"Mhm…"

"Do you know why he wants to kill him?"

Naruto stopped eating, looking at him. He shook his head. Kakashi sighed.

"What?"

"When he was seven, he stayed out late. He was throwing shuriken, I think. As he was walking home, he saw the lights were all out, and it was too early for everyone to be sleeping. When he went around the corner…Naruto, what do you think of Sasuke?"

"Are you going to finish telling me what happened to him?"

"Yes. After you answer my question."

Naruto poked his chopsticks into his bowl of ramen.

"When I first met him," he started, "I couldn't stand him. I thought he was mean and stuck up. I hated how cool he always seemed to be." He frowned. "I guess what really got to me was how much attention he always got."

Kakashi nodded.

"How about now?"

Naruto smiled a very tiny smile.

"I don't think he ever had a friend, before me. I think he was about to say that, right to my face, after I asked him if he wanted to be friends." Naruto looked thoughtful. "He isn't mean. There is just a lot going on with him. I don't think I even come close to knowing half of it, too. His being mean and stuck up is just a front. I think he just wants everyone to think he's strong."

"Do you think he's strong?"

"Yes." It was a simple answer.

Kakashi nodded.

"He turned the corner and found all the members of his clan, dead. He ran home, looked from room to room, then found his parents in the center of one, dead. When he was found, sometime later, in another part of the village, he was reported to have said that he saw them being killed. Every single one of them."

The expression on Naruto's face asked the question n his mind.

"I have looked into this. There is a certain type of Sharingan which allows the user to manipulate time."

Naruto stopped him for a moment.

"Did they ever find out exactly who did this?"

Kakashi closed his eyes.

"Itachi. Sasukes older brother."

There was something strange in Narutos blue eyes when he nodded.

"A Sharingan which manipulates time? How does that fit in?"

"The user can make his victim see or feel anything. I am almost positive Itachi used this on Sasuke, made him watch as he killed their entire clan."

There was pure hatred in Narutos eyes.

"Naruto," he said. "What do you think of Sasuke now?"

Kakashi waited for a response, but none came.

* * *

The Sasuke Uchiha fan club surrounded their favorite subject.

Sasuke.

He couldn't stand their constant jabbering, and he was pretty sure he'd hurt the next one to compliment him, girl or not. He desperately wanted to get away. Sakura, who was, by far, the absolute worst, hadn't let him get out of her sight since she'd found out he had returned home.

She was also the first to let out the cry that Naruto was coming. He felt immense relief.

Naruto was turning into his little blonde hero.

"Can I talk to Sasuke alone?" Naruto asked the girls. It was the wrong thing to say. Now they'd never leave.

"No way, Uzumaki!" An especially vicious one cried. Many others repeated her words.

"Fine," Naruto said. He approached Sasuke.

"What's he going to do now?" Sakura said, loud enough for everyone to hear. Naruto stopped, standing directly in front of Sasuke, who had his hands in his pockets, as was normal.

"You jerk!" Naruto cried.

Sasuke flinched away from Narutos tone. Naruto seemed to notice this, because he softened his voice.

"After what happened to Shuna's parents, why didn't you tell me what was wrong? Why didn't you tell me what Itachi did to you?" Naruto saw the look of pain in his eyes. "It is true, what Kakashi told me. He did make you watch it, didn't he?" His voice softened further. "It's alright," he said, pulling Sasuke into a tight embrace. "No one will ever do that to you again. I promise."

Sasuke closed his eyes, relaxing slightly, resting his head on the blonde's shoulder.

Abruptly, Naruto pushed him away. He bit his lip, as though fighting back something. He lost.

"Sasuke, you make everything so complicated!" Some girls giggled at this.

Naruto pushed him lightly, speaking softly once more. "I think I'm falling in love with you."

Everyone froze. Naruto seemed surprised at the exact words which had left his mouth.

There was a thump as a girl hit the ground in a dead faint.

Sasuke looked into the other boys blue eyes and did the only thing his body would allow him to do. He carefully bent toward Naruto, their faces centimeters away from each other, and brushed a light kiss across his lips.

"Me too," he said.

"Me too?" A few girls echoed.

"You're so funny! Don't joke about something like that!"

Sakura watched in shock. But then she smiled. They weren't joking.

"He's not trying to be funny. He's serious." She said. Many girls laughed.

"Are you serious?"

In answer to this, Sasuke brushed another kiss onto Naruto's lips. Then, he turned toward them, to the whole world, a slow sweet smile touching his face.

"I love Naruto Uzumaki!" He cried out.

Naruto smiled.

"I love you too, Sasuke Uchiha, I love you."

**The End**

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* * *

**

_Here's the last time I'll ask it: What did you think? _

_This story, so you know, was based off of a handfull of pictures I've seen and a song that shared the same title as the story. I'll put the lyrics on my profile, if you want to see them. _

_If you liked my writing, I am working on a new story, but it could take a little time for me to get it up. It is going to be called **Always There**._

_So long for now!_


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